Peers give nod to PV teachers

By Barry Porterfield

Teacher of the Year at their respective Pauls Valley schools is the official title now carried by a handful of local educators.

The honor came for the five teachers after their fellow teachers voted to see who would be top teacher at each of the local sites.

Getting the honor for the current 2008-2009 school year are Mark Green at the high school, Sharon Bratcher at the junior high, Lee Elementary’s Laura Mantooth, Pat Riddle at Jackson Elementary and Charla Forrester at Jefferson Early Learning Center.

“It’s a big honor because they’re selected by their peers in their building,” Assistant Superintendent Darsha Huckabaa said.

“The week of Nov. 3 all the teachers at each site voted for their teacher of the year,” she said.

With the winners now named each will submit additional applications as the local Professional Development Committee will begin the process of deciding who will ultimately earn the honor of top teacher for the entire PV school district.

That announcement is scheduled to come on Jan. 19.

As for the five site winners, a closer look at each is needed.

• Mark Green is a Pauls Valley High School and East Central University alumni. He holds a B.S. in Secondary Science Education.

This is his seventh year to teach at Pauls Valley Schools, and he taught at Wynnewood Public Schools for five years. In the past 11 years he has taught seventh and eighth grade General Science, Biology I and II, Anatomy, Chemistry, Physics and has coached tennis four years.

He is currently pursuing his National Board Certification, sponsors Prayer Warriors at PVHS and is a member of the Oklahoma Tennis Coaches Association.

Green is married to Angela Green, who teaches junior high math at Pauls Valley Junior High. They have one child, Isaac Wade, age 1, and are expecting a new arrival to the family in May.

• After graduating high school from Maysville, Sharon Bratcher attended the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (USAO) on a full basketball scholarship. It was from USAO that Sharon received her Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood and Elementary Education.

She began her teaching career in the Maysville school system and then moved to Pauls Valley teaching at Jackson Elementary. In 2006 she began teaching seventh grade math at Pauls Valley Junior High.

Her teaching philosophy is simple: Do your best to keep the kids engaged and have fun while you learn.

“Being selected teacher of the year for the junior high is a great honor and I credit my colleagues for challenging me to be better every day,” Bratcher said.

Bratcher is married to Pauls Valley native Steve Bratcher, and they have four children. The family is very active at Higher Ground Church in Pauls Valley.

• Laura Mantooth is a PVHS graduate. She received her bachelor’s degree from ECU. This is her 12th year of teaching in the Pauls Valley School System.

Her duties have included elementary physical education, coaching junior high softball, basketball and tennis.

She is married with two children, Josh Rolan, age 19, and Rachel Mantooth, age 13. She enjoys working with the youth of Pauls Valley and seeing them succeed in life as well as sports.

• Pat Riddle, born in Phillipsburg, N.J., had a father in the military giving her the opportunity to travel as she grew up.

She met Clint Riddle in San Antonio, Texas and was married in 1964. They moved to Pauls Valley in 1975 and have three sons who graduated from Pauls Valley — Clint Jr., Johnny and Tommy.

In 1987, Pat started college at ECU, along with two of her sons and a future daughter-in-law. Four years later she began her teaching career in Lindsay. The following year she was back in PV.

“This is my 18th year to be a special education teacher. It has been hard work, a challenge at times, but the most rewarding experience,” she said.

“I feel fortunate to have worked with special needs students and their parents.”

• Born in Texas, Charla Forrester has lived in Pauls Valley since the third grade. After graduating from PVHS, she earned her bachelor’s degree in science from ECU.

She is now in her ninth year of teaching music with the past seven years at JELC.

“I love where I’m at, and I love the students and the age I work with each day,” she said.

She and her husband Brent have been married for 24 years. They have two children, Kyle and Heather, and she’s active in the First Baptist Church, where she serves as the church pianist and adult choir accompanist.